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Elon Musk is not happy that his Wikipedia page now refers to the infamous gesture he demonstrated on Monday as a “Nazi Salute”.
The billionaire father of 12, called out the online encyclopedia site, on X Tuesday after the gesticulation he made at a rally at the Capital One Arena was referred to as “a Nazi salute or fascist salute” on his Wikipedia page – something the Tesla/X CEO vehemently denies.
Taking aim at Wikipedia co-founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Musk argued that the site had become an extension of left-wing media or the “legacy media”, a term that has been adopted as a derogatory way to refer to traditional media sources by the MAGA movement.
“Since legacy media propaganda is considered a “valid” source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!”, he wrote on X.
The world’s richest man, who has managed to become part of President Donald Trump’s circle, went on in his diatribe to state: “Defund Wikipedia until [the] balance is restored!”
But the South African tech boss, who has had online spats with Wales in the past, was met with a fierce response from the Wikipedia co-founder.
“I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale. I hope his campaign to defund us results in lots of donations from people who care about the truth. If Elon wanted to help, he’d be encouraging kind and thoughtful intellectual people he agrees with to engage.”, Wales wrote on X Tuesday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also accused Musk of “supporting extreme Right positions” following the shocking signal, while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, reported The Telegraph. Musk has previously endorsed Germany’s far-Right AfD party.
On Musk’s page, the first mention of the derogatory term “Nazi” does not appear until at least halfway down where he is cited as a propagandist for spreading misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories, a statement taken from the heavily fact-checked news outlet The Associated Press.
The second reference to Musk and “Nazism” falls further down and Monday’s gesticulation along with the disgusted response it received is mentioned alongside a gif of the incident.
In the surreal clip, Musk is seen fiercely slapping his right hand over his heart, with a gritted facial expression. His fingers are spread wide and he extends his right arm out, diagonally and emphatically. He then does it again, this time at the same upward angle, with his palm down and fingers together to the crowds behind him. Musk then tells his audience “My heart goes out to you.”
It was not the only surprise on Monday as the world was left speechless at Trump’s cataclysmic executive orders, which he ruled just hours after taking office.
The Spectator’s Brendan O’Neil called Musk’s gritted facial expression a synesthetic “odd blend of love and anger” in an op-ed Tuesday and asked readers to re-consider relating his behavior to Nazism as “a little far-fetched”. He insisted, however, that Musk is a complicated and not entirely sane character.
“Look, none of us knows what’s going on in Musk’s mind. I’m not convinced he himself knows half the time.”, he stated.
At the other end of the debate, Charlie Warzel from The Atlantic spoke on behalf of the majority of the shocked world, asking “Did He Actually Do That?”
Warzel was skeptical of labeling it as what the gesticulation appeared to be but cited Musk’s sinister track record as adequate justification.
“Above all else, Musk is a troll, an edgelord. He delights in “triggering” his ideological enemies, which includes the media”, he wrote. He also highlighted that the far-right is thrilled at Musk’s gesture and has taken it as a clear signal to the fascist movement, according to Wired.
